Before Orion could respond—
Naruto Uzumaki had already grabbed him and dragged him outside.
"What are you thinking for? Let's go!"
"This is a C-rank mission! How long would you have to wait in the village to get one like this?"
Even though Naruto felt a little jealous of how much Kakashi Hatake valued Orion—
He didn't dislike him.
After all—
Orion was one of the few people who had never shown disgust toward him.
As Orion was pulled out of the house—
He turned back to glance at Kakashi.
He was confused.
Why had Kakashi suddenly decided to bring him along?
Kakashi had clearly said before—
That he would only take Orion on missions after he reached jonin-level strength.
Orion didn't believe Kakashi would break his word for no reason.
But before he could ask—
Naruto had already explained everything on the way.
After hearing what happened at the Hokage's office—
Orion understood.
So that's why.
He no longer questioned it.
Naturally—
He wouldn't refuse Kakashi's goodwill.
Soon—
They arrived at the gates of Konohagakure.
When Tazuna saw Orion—
He laughed.
"Now THIS looks like a ninja."
"Unlike that dumb-looking kid."
The "kid" he was referring to—
Was Naruto.
Naruto clenched his teeth and glared at him—
But remembering that Tazuna was their client—
He held himself back.
The group traveled quietly.
Only Naruto kept talking nonstop.
Sasuke Uchiha had his eyes fixed on Orion.
Sakura Haruno was also curious.
Sasuke wanted to know—
How strong Orion really was.
He knew Kakashi's strength very well.
Someone Kakashi valued this much—
Couldn't possibly be weak.
But just how strong?
He wanted to see for himself.
After walking for a while—
They entered a forest.
Ahead—
Two puddles appeared on the ground.
Orion glanced at Kakashi.
Kakashi subtly shook his head.
Don't act yet.
Orion had already noticed something was wrong.
He had sensed chakra fluctuations in the puddles.
Clearly—
Two ninjas were hiding there.
And—
It was a hot, sunny day.
The ground was dry.
Yet those puddles showed no sign of evaporation.
Too unnatural.
Kakashi and Orion both noticed—
But pretended nothing was wrong.
They calmly walked past.
After they moved about ten steps away—
Suddenly—
"CLANK!"
Chains burst out from the puddles.
Two enemy ninjas appeared instantly—
Their chained blades wrapping around Kakashi.
Before anyone could react—
Kakashi's body—
Was torn apart.
Blood and flesh scattered everywhere.
The ground was stained red.
The horrifying scene froze everyone.
Even Orion—
Despite knowing it was a substitution—
Felt a chill.
It was his first time witnessing such brutality.
His body reacted instinctively.
If not for his strong mental control—
He might have vomited.
At the same time—
The two attackers assumed success—
And charged toward the rest.
Naruto froze completely.
Sasuke reacted instantly.
He threw multiple kunai—
CLANG!
One pinned the chain to a tree.
But—
That attack was only a feint.
Their real target—
Was Tazuna.
They moved at terrifying speed—
Appearing before Tazuna in an instant.
"SAKURA, WATCH OUT!"
Sasuke shouted.
But it was too late.
Sakura stepped forward—
Holding a kunai—
Standing in front of Tazuna.
"Don't overestimate yourself."
The attackers sneered.
They could clearly see—
She wasn't strong enough.
But the moment they reached her—
BOOM! BOOM!
A terrifying force struck their chests.
"CRASH!!!"
Their bodies flew backward—
Like cannonballs—
Smashing through rows of trees—
Before finally stopping.
Sakura stood frozen—
Still holding her kunai—
Staring ahead.
At Orion.
He stood calmly in front of her.
Everyone was stunned.
After a long moment—
Sakura's voice trembled.
"O-Orion… thank you…"
She hadn't even seen his movement.
But it was obvious—
He had sent them flying.
Behind her—
Tazuna, who had nearly died—
Muttered in awe:
"I knew it… this kid is reliable…"
Sasuke stood there—
Eyes wide—
Completely shaken.
Even with his Sharingan—
He couldn't follow Orion's movement.
"…A monster…"
Even with his one-tomoe Sharingan—
He should've been able to track most ninja movements.
But Orion—
Was too fast.
Hidden nearby—
Kakashi was equally shocked.
He knew Orion was talented—
Already at chunin level before.
But what he just saw—
Was completely different.
That wasn't chunin level.
Even though Orion had only used taijutsu—
His strength had increased several times since their last encounter.
Kakashi appeared beside the fallen enemies.
Looking at their crushed chests—
He muttered:
"…How much force did he use?"
They were already dead.
"These were chunin…"
"And he killed them instantly…"
Kakashi's eyes narrowed.
"That means…"
Orion now had jonin-level combat power.
And that—
Was without using ninjutsu.
After all—
Orion had already learned Chidori.
Even though that night had ended in failure—
Kakashi knew the truth.
Orion had already succeeded—
It was just that his chakra had gone out of control.
Even now—
Without fully controlling his power—
Just his taijutsu alone—
Was already comparable to a jonin.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus (NR)Chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus (NR)Chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read 60 (NR)Chapter ahead on P@treon if you're interested: patreon.com/SwipeSage